Angelides Launches Drive to Protect National Guard

CALIFORNIA TREASURER PHIL ANGELIDES LAUNCHES www.CloseTheLoophole.com TO PROTECT CALIFORNIA'S NATIONAL GUARD

California Treasurer Phil Angelides today launched a national online petition drive at www.CloseTheLoophole.com, calling on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to honor the men and women of the California National Guard by providing access to quality health care for soldiers and their families.

By logging onto www.CloseTheLoophole.com, activists can send a letter to Governor Schwarzenegger asking him to support legislation authored by State Assemblyman Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys) and sponsored by Treasurer Angelides that would provide a refundable health insurance tax credit to Guard members returning home from overseas duty, paid for by closing a tax loophole that lets some corporations doing business in California and elsewhere generate income without being taxed anywhere. Online activists also have the ability to send a letter to the editor to over 90 California-based newspapers in support of the legislation.

"It is shameful to ask these men and women to protect us if we won’t protect them against the financial risk of sickness and injury," Treasurer Angelides said. "It is both patriotic and fair to salute our troops by giving them and their families access to basic, affordable health care."

Since the attacks of September 11th, the men and women of the California National Guard have been called to the front lines to defend America. But while they volunteer to protect their state and country, thousands of California National Guard members have been left without health insurance, leaving them unprotected against the financial risk of disease and injury. Currently, one in five National Guard members has no health insurance, a figure that rises to 40 percent for junior enlisted men and women, according the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

California Treasurer Phil Angelides and Assemblymember Lloyd Levine have introduced legislation that will enable California National Guard members to obtain basic health insurance for themselves and their families at no cost to ordinary taxpayers. The legislation, AB 1525, will provide a refundable tax credit of up to $4000 a year for health insurance premiums to cover Guard members and their families, paid for by closing an unjust corporate tax loophole.

The bill will have no impact on the State's General Fund and will cost nothing for ordinary taxpayers, since it closes the "nowhere income" tax loophole that currently allows multinational corporations to avoid paying taxes in any state.

"Simply by closing one unfair corporate tax loophole that lets income of some multi-state and multinational corporations go untaxed entirely, you could create enough revenue to offer yearly refundable tax credits to returned California National Guard members for them to purchase health insurance," the petition reads. "I urge you to do the right thing and protect the interests of California's citizen soldiers."